Apple final month introduced macOS 26 Tahoe, the following main replace to the Mac working system. Whereas it comes with lots of new options, together with the Liquid Glass interface, Reside Actions, and a strong new Highlight, the replace additionally killed off a characteristic that has lived on the Mac for over a decade.
With macOS 26, Apple changed Launchpad with a brand new app launcher built-in with Highlight. However for those who’re like me and miss Launchpad, there’s a option to carry it again.
For these unfamiliar, Launchpad on the Mac is actually a “residence display” that exhibits all of the apps you will have put in, identical to on the iPhone and iPad. It was launched with OS X Lion in 2010 at a time when Apple wished to carry extra of the iPad expertise to the Mac.
Whereas some customers by no means obtained used to having Launchpad on their Mac, I all the time preferred having a option to set up my apps the way in which I wished. As an illustration, Launchpad lets me create a number of pages and place apps in folders, so I don’t want to recollect the title of an app I not often use; I simply want to recollect the place it’s in Launchpad.
However macOS 26 has modified that, because the record of apps is now built-in into Highlight, so it is advisable to seek for every thing. Whereas the brand new interface is definitely extra minimalist, it doesn’t let customers set up apps the way in which they need.
The brand new Highlight is so highly effective that it replaces Launchpad in your Mac.
Apple
The best way to carry Launchpad again in macOS 26
Fortunately, there’s a option to reverse this, no less than for now. For those who’re operating the macOS 26 beta in your Mac and wish Launchpad again, simply comply with these steps. A phrase of warning: Messing with instructions in Terminal, particularly the sudo (superuser do) command, isn’t one thing informal customers ought to do, because it might trigger points to your machine and require a reinstallation of the OS. And we advocate backing up your information earlier than putting in a beta for a similar motive.
- Open the Terminal app inside Functions > Utilities.
- Write the next command and hit Return: sudo mkdir -p /Library/Preferences/FeatureFlags/Area
- Enter your Mac’s password and press Return (you should be logged into an admin account)
- Write the next command and hit Return: sudo defaults write /Library/Preferences/FeatureFlags/Area/SpotlightUI.plist SpotlightPlus -dict Enabled -bool false
- Reboot your Mac
When you’ve finished that, you’ll be capable to use Launchpad once more in macOS 26 beta. Nevertheless, this command additionally brings again the previous Highlight expertise with out the enhancements launched with macOS 26, resembling clipboard historical past and integration with the Shortcuts app.
If you wish to revert to the brand new Highlight (and consequently disable Launchpad), redo all the identical steps above however enter the next command as a substitute:
sudo defaults write /Library/Preferences/FeatureFlags/Area/SpotlightUI.plist SpotlightPlus -dict Enabled -bool true
Understand that whereas this trick works on macOS 26 beta 3, Apple would possibly break it in future variations of macOS. macOS 26 will likely be launched to the general public this fall. A public beta is predicted to be accessible within the subsequent few days.
